The Path of the Ponds starting from Troche

Park at Place du Marronnier; look for the hiking sign next to the well.

Follow the orange No. 10 markings.

(S/E) Take the Allée de Lescuras opposite the market hall. Pass the blue weighbridge. Pass the hamlet of Lescuras and continue along the tarmac Route des Templiers. At the bottom of the descent, leave the path on your left and continue along the road. After the hamlet of Les Combes, at the crossroads, turn right onto the Route des Lagunes until you reach the D7 road.

(1) At the junction, turn right towards Troche. After the Chantegril sign, leave the Impasse de Chantegril on your left. A little further on, turn left onto the Route de Chantegril. After 250m, turn left onto the Chemin de Chantegril. After the joinery, leave the tarmac road and turn right onto the dirt track leading uphill.

After passing an abandoned cottage on your right, continue straight along the track and leave the dirt track on your right. Cross the woods and pass a pidgeon hunting hut on your left. Continue along the track until you reach the tarmac local road.

(2) Turn left and follow the tarmac road to the hamlet of Espalion. Pass Impasse d’Espalion on your left. Pass Impasse de la Fontaine on your left and walk through the village. At the three-way junction, take the central tarmac path. At the end of the tarmac path, continue straight ahead and pass a path entrance on your right. Pass the agricultural machinery shelters on your left. Walk alongside a walnut plantation on your left.

At the end of this plantation, at the fork in two dirt tracks, take the track to the right of a large beech tree, which descends steeply. Then walk slightly uphill to the signpost. Turn right downhill and ignore the path on the left going uphill. Note the roofs of the Chartreuse du Glandier just above the treetops, slightly to your right. At a hairpin bend to the right, continue downhill to the stream.

(3) Ignore a path climbing up to the left at this bend. You will enter a wood. At the stream, cross the small wooden bridge and continue along the path. Follow the river below.

(4) At the end of the path, you’ll come out onto the main road, opposite the Chartreuse du Glandier sign. Turn right and head back up the road. After 20 metres, take the path to the left of the road, behind a hornbeam hedge.

(5) At the end of this hedge, take the dirt track on the left which leads into the forest. At a fork, take the track on the right which climbs quite steeply. Do not follow the Canal des Chartreux. Immediately afterwards, at the crossroads, continue straight ahead. Follow the orange No. 10 markings.

(6) At a platform, continue along the gravel path that climbs slightly to your left (do not take the paths that lead back down).

(7) At the spillway of the Rechèze pond, continue along the path to the right, the only one that does not cross the stream. Pass a hut with masonry walls, leave the two paths on your right and continue along the path by the pond. Pass the wooden hut on your left. Pass the concrete-built hut on your right. Walk alongside a pond on your right. Further on, at a right-hand bend, ignore the path on your left that heads into the woods. At the sign for “Etang de la Rechèze”, continue straight ahead on the tarmac path.

(8) At the junction with the Route communale des Coutilles, turn right, heading uphill. At the cemetery car park, take Rue des Remparts on the left. This leads to Place du Marronnier (S/E).

This route forms a circular route or, for the more experienced, a route of nearly 16km when combined with the Ponts des Farges and Chanterane routes.
At the starting point, the market hall in the village centre can be used as shelter, and there is a water point and public toilets nearby.
Follow the orange markings and signpost no. 10.

At the start, take a look at the church,
At a place called Chantegril, speak to Mr Feydel, the last maker of the famous Troche couade, a sort of walnut-wood ladle with a perforated handle used for drawing water from a bucket.
Heading towards the pidgeon hunting hut, you’ll discover a view overlooking a Limousin farm specialising in Limousin cattle breeding and apple growing, two activities emblematic of the region.
A remarkable pidgeon hunting hut, notable for its height and construction.
Don’t hesitate to make a round trip to the Chartreuse de Glandier, a site with architecture unique to the Limousin region, the setting for the “Lafarge Affair” and the latest novel “Né d’aucune femme” by Fanck Bouysse, a local author and winner of numerous literary awards.
From the viewing platform, you can access the Canal des Chartreux.
The Rechèze pond is a birdwatching hotspot where, with a bit of luck, you may spot kingfishers, cormorants, moorhens, white or grey herons, and more...
On arrival, continue for about 500m to reach the information board and take in the panoramic view of Les Monédières and the Puy de Sancy: a fine example of the Limousin bocage landscape.

For those feeling peckish, there’s a bakery and patisserie, and for those with a sweet tooth, book your meal at La Table de Troche. In the village, several lodges and guesthouses are available to accommodate walkers.